


on commitment

by jdphoenix



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Book 2: Earth, F/M, Fake Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2015-12-06
Packaged: 2018-05-05 08:48:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5369126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jdphoenix/pseuds/jdphoenix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Just explain it to me again.”</p><p>“There is no way you can pass as my brother and we are <i>way</i> too conspicuous as two unrelated people, from different nations, traveling together. So we’re pretending to be married.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	on commitment

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my 25 days of fic self-challenge and partially inspired by [this fantastic piece of art](http://ilosttrackofthings.tumblr.com/post/88704278084/beanaroony-zutara-month-day-2-sleep-ive) (though the scene it depicts doesn't appear here at all).

“I just-”

Katara bites down on her annoyance as the footsteps behind her stutter to a stop. When they start up again, they’re going in the _opposite_ direction.

“Just explain it to me again,” Zuko finishes.

She turns to face him while she explains - for the _fifth time_ \- that, “There is no way you can pass as my brother-” (Zuko always makes a face at that part and Katara always enjoys it) “-and we are _way_ too conspicuous as two unrelated people, from different nations, traveling together. So we’re pretending to be married.”

“Yeah,” Zuko says with a wave of his hand, “I understand all that. What I’m wondering about is _that_.” He points to the blanket rolled up under her dress.

Katara looks from his slightly horrified expression to the curve of the rolled blanket and back again. Maybe they don’t teach little fire princes about these things until the wedding day? “It’s supposed to be a baby-”

“I know it’s supposed to be a baby!”

Zuko turns away to pace even farther back up the road and Katara has to bite her lips to keep from laughing; there’s a bright red blush racing up the back of his neck. His shoulders lift while he drags in long breaths and somehow she doesn’t think he’s enjoying the view of the sun rising over the Earth Kingdom valley.

“I mean,” he says testily, his back still to her, “why do we have to be married _and_ having a baby?”

Katara rolls her eyes. She would’ve thought that much was obvious. “That’s why we’re married.”

Zuko whirls on her, looking far too scandalized for someone who grew up in a palace. He sputters like he’s about to deny ever touching her, which, obviously he hasn’t - he still has all his appendages.

She marches up to him before he can start saying something so utterly stupid and grabs his hand. They don’t have all day.

“We met a year ago,” she says while he stumbles along. “Your mother was Earth Kingdom, your dad was some Fire Nation soldier who doesn’t even know about you. You grew up in one of the coastal towns. I grew up in the Southern Water Tribe and was kidnapped by pirates-” she gives him a dirty look and he has the decency to look chagrined- “whose ship went down in a storm just offshore from your village. Everyone there was very nice to me-”

“Too nice to you,” Zuko mutters.

“Yes,” she says tightly. “And now we’re married and headed inland because the village is too prone to attack and your uncle in Ba Sing Se says he has work for you that can support all three of us.”

“But _why_ ,” he asks, sounding like he’s already heard the answer and doesn’t like it, “do you have to be pregnant? Why couldn’t we just-” His feet shuffle a little, kicking up dirt and she thinks she might even be able to hear him swallow. “Never mind. It’s a good reason.”

She never thought it was possible, but Zuko actually looks _more_ dour than usual. And, not that she doesn’t like winning - especially against him - but he’s never just _given up_ before. It’s not as fun when he does that.

“What?” she asks, letting her hand slip down from his wrist to lace their fingers together like a happily married couple. “That’s it? You just agree with me all of a sudden?”

“Yeah.”

She and Zuko aren’t friends. They’re only traveling together because his uncle is going to the same place her friends are and they kind of got stranded together because his sister’s insane, but she _has_ fought him literally from one side of the world to the other, so she thinks she knows him pretty well. She’s never heard him sound like that before. Like all he can say is one stupid word because more isn’t possible.

She scrambles ahead, keeping hold of his hand and bringing her other hand up to hold against his chest, stopping him. Something is wrong and if she hadn’t been holding onto him this whole time she would think he’s been replaced with an even more sour faced double while she wasn’t looking.

“What’s going on?” she asks sternly, using her _do what I say_ voice that always works on Sokka and Aang.

“Nothing,” he says, but he twitches when he says it and he won’t meet her eyes.

“It’s _not_ nothing and if you don’t tell me right now I’ll freeze you to that tree!”

He looks at the big tree she’s chosen at random and back to her before lifting his hand and igniting a small flame in his palm. “Sun’s up.”

She lets out a roar of frustration - even when she’s worried about him, he still finds a way to be _completely annoying_ \- and pushes him. Not with water, with her bare hands.

The flame goes out and he sprawls back in the dirt, blinking up at her with one wide eye and one slightly wider eye. Oh.

_Oh._

Katara’s stomach turns and she has the sick feeling that she’s done something very bad. “Tell me what’s wrong,” she insists, pulling up her old anger in hopes it’s justified.

“Nothing.” He twitches again. To the left. Like he’s trying to hide the scar.

The anger’s still there, only now it’s all directed inward at herself. (Okay, maybe a _little_ is still aimed at Zuko but that’s just because he’s such an _idiot_ he couldn’t tell her the truth in the first place.) She uncurls her shaking fists and carefully steps around him to kneel on his right side. It’s awkward with her big blanket baby in the way, but she manages.

“I don’t notice it,” she says softly. “Not anymore.” After all these months, it’s just part of his face, like how some people have especially large noses or eyes too close together. It might be a reason for some girls to reject him, but those aren’t the ones he’d want to marry anyway.

He keeps his eyes fixed firmly on the road ahead. “Yeah, well. You hate me, so it doesn’t really count.”

“Yeah, I do.” No point in denying it. He _is_ the most infuriating person she knows and he can probably guess as much. She reaches out and forces his chin towards her. He stares determinedly at a spot over her shoulder. “But you’re forgetting one very important thing about this story.”

His jaw moves under her fingers. It’s an odd sensation, but not so odd she lets him go. “And what’s that?”

“I had to have liked you at least a little to end up in this situation at all.”

She stands to march on ahead. They really shouldn’t be wasting all this time.

When a few steps go by and she still doesn’t hear him following, she yells, “And for the record! I may hate you, but that doesn’t mean I think you’re ugly!”

She hears something scraping against the dirt - probably a foot slipping, she thinks with a smile - and then the scramble of him rushing to his feet. He catches up to her and she very kindly chooses not to comment on the return of his blush, even if it is kind of adorable.

 


End file.
